The Most Meaningful Gift: William Harford ’51 Scholarship for Service

Helen and William Harford ’51 with their extended family

Saint Peter’s yearbook photo of William Harford ’51

Helen and William Harford ’51

The Most

Meaningful Gift

At times, William Harford ’51 seemed larger than life. With a smile that could instantly light up a room, the longtime sales and marketing executive often set others at ease with a series of quips that sparked infectious laughter among listeners. Yet beneath his jovial personality was an intensity of purpose founded on qualities that had shaped his life, like character, hard work and ingenuity.

After the World War II veteran passed away on June 14, 2020, his family wanted to honor his incredible legacy. One idea tossed around by his son and daughter-in-law, Woody and Suni Harford, was an endowed scholarship for veterans at Saint Peter’s University. By winter 2020, the project hadn’t gained much traction—or so Woody thought.

As the couple exchanged presents on Christmas Eve, Suni informed her husband that the William Harford ’51 Scholarship for Service would soon be a reality. “What is the most meaningful gift you could give anyone?” asked Woody. “At this point in our lives, gift giving has become less about things and more about experiences. This was a gift she knew I’d value highly.”

Established with a $250,000 contribution, the William Harford ’51 Scholarship for Service will provide tuition and other assistance for veterans who enroll at Saint Peter’s. The scholarship recognizes the service of Harford, a Jersey City resident who graduated from Lincoln High School then enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After two years in the Pacific theater, Harford returned home and enrolled in a special program to prepare veterans for college. With the assistance of the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at Saint Peter’s, where he studied business and played on the varsity baseball team.

After graduating, Harford embarked on a long career in sales and marketing, working for several firms before landing at Noxell Corporation, which boasted well-known products like Noxzema and CoverGirl and later became a subsidiary of The Proctor and Gamble Company. Despite his career achievements, Harford considered his biggest success to be his family: his wife, Helen, and four children. Harford was a hands-on dad, which was unusual at the time. “He was a fabulous father,” explained Helen. “He did everything with the children.”

Throughout his life, Harford maintained that a can-do attitude was everything when it came to facing challenges. As a coach for Woody’s youth baseball team, he’d choose the roster more on attitude than on the ability to pitch, hit and throw. An adolescent Woody also stayed home from school for a week to help his father build a new deck in the rear of the family’s home. “He’d never remotely built anything like that before,” laughed Woody, who is retired from the airline industry.

The results of those experiences—two baseball championships and a new deck for the family—helped to shape Woody’s character: “Dad was an attitude guy. Those experiences taught me that you can get anything done if you approach it with a positive attitude. They were great life lessons about what’s really important for success.”

Harford also taught his children to think on their feet. At family dinners, one game involved speaking extemporaneously as a spoon, representing a microphone, was passed around the table. “Bill believed in the importance of being able to think critically and speak well,” Helen said. “He knew that you could be the smartest person in the world, but something’s missing if you can’t communicate your ideas.”

Today, veterans affairs remain important to the Harford family. In addition to Harford’s service, Suni’s father served in World War II, her brother is an Air Force veteran and she is a founder of Veterans on Wall Street and recipient of the U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Woody believes his outgoing father would be humbled by the scholarship for veterans established at Saint Peter’s in his name: “He loved being the center of attention, but I think he’d be overwhelmed by this. He always downplayed his successes and never gave himself enough credit.”

Recalling the moment she heard about the scholarship, Helen said, “I was flabbergasted. What a fantastic way to honor and pay tribute to him.”

If you are interested in establishing a legacy scholarship to pay tribute to a loved one, please contact Linda Moore, J.D., senior director of leadership and planned giving, at (201) 761-6128 or lmoore2@saintpeters.edu.

Established with a $250,000 contribution, the William Harford ’51 Scholarship for Service will provide tuition and other assistance for veterans who enroll at Saint Peter’s.

What a Rally!

SAINT PETER DAY RAISES MORE THAN $300,000 IN 24 HOURS

Saint Peter Day donors doubled their impact and raised a record $302,021 in 24 hours on April 6. This year’s day of annual giving coincided with the Founders’ Week celebration in honor of the 150th anniversary of the charter that established Saint Peter’s University. The historical significance of the Sesquicentennial, along with Peacock Pride on the heels of the men’s basketball team’s outstanding performance in the NCAA Tournament, fueled the outpouring of support from alumni, students, faculty, staff, administrators and friends.

The effort was helped by a group of loyal and generous alumni who challenged the wider University community to donate by matching the first $150,000 raised, dollarfor-dollar. The Opportunity for Generations challengers included Garry Prime ’65, Patricia Crifo ’70, Kevin Downes ’73, Noreen Beaman ’86, Anthony ’92 and Maureen ’94 Pergola, La Toro Yates ’94, Rosemary Ampuero ’96, John Hallanan III ’03, Rozen Pradhan ’11 and Anu Joshi ’12.

PEACOCK NATION DAY

The second annual Peacock Nation Day, held on February 27, also surpassed expectations. The day of giving in support of the University’s student-athletes raised $70,946 from 171 gifts, setting a record that more than doubled the amount raised in the inaugural campaign. Thanks to matching gift challenges from Tom Mac Mahon ’68, Sharon Pastore ’73 and Christie Shea ’00, the campaign drew contributions of all sizes from all sectors of the Saint Peter’s community. Director of Athletics Rachelle Paul said the outstanding result “is a testament to all of Peacock Nation and the unified goal of providing the best possible experience for our student-athletes.”

Through the Athletic Director’s Challenge, donors also had the opportunity to direct a gift to their favorite team. The men’s baseball team won the challenge with a total of $12,698 raised, and the program was awarded a $2,500 bonus.